ExxonMobil Entitled to Tax Refund Based on Qatar Gas Partnership

Exxon Mobil Corp. is entitled to deduct interest payments it made to Qatar from its US taxes because the company performed qualifying production payments through Al Khaleej Gas, its partnership with the country, a Dallas federal court said Thursday.

The IRS must allow ExxonMobil’s claimed refund because AKG is a valid partnership and its production payments are properly treated as mortgage loans under tax code Section 636(a), the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas said. In treating the payments as mortgage loans, any interest paid by ExxonMobil to Qatar is tax deductible, Chief Judge David ...